The Berlin definition, proposed in 2012, breaks with tradition by establishing three risk strata that are based on the degree of hypoxemia as assessed at a minimum positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP).Continue reading →

Acute cholecystitis is a very common complication of cholelithiasis, and as such is frequently encountered in surgical practice. TG07 diagnostic criteria are recognized as those to be recommended in current care for acute cholecystitis.Continue reading →

The use of the Alvarado scoring system, which includes clinical examination findings and laboratory values, is helpful in ruling out appendicitis. Scores range from 1 to 10, with higher scores indicating a greater risk of appendicitis. When the score is less than 4, appendicitis is uncommon, and imaging and other interventions can be avoided.Continue reading →

Recently developed consensus functional definitions on the basis of specific changes in the serum creatinine concentration and urine volume now complement anatomical approaches to diagnosis.Continue reading →

Recent guidelines published by the American College of Gastroenterology suggest that urgent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) (within 24 hours after admission) is indicated in patients with biliary pancreatitis who have concurrent acute cholangitis, but it is not needed in most patients who do not have evidence of ongoing biliary obstruction.Continue reading →

Acute bacterial sinusitis in children is diagnosed on the basis of the history, with the use of the criteria. Imaging studies (plain-film radiography, computed tomography [CT], magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], and ultrasonography) show signs of sinus inflammation but are not recommended in patients with uncomplicated infection, given the low specificity of these studies.Continue reading →

Acute radiation sickness can be categorized into three phases: prodrome, latency, and illness. The Table, summarizes the constellation of hematologic, gastrointestinal, and neurologic symptoms, along with the time to onset and dose dependence, associated with each of these phases.Continue reading →

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) is a brief but intense attack of inflammation (swelling) in the brain and spinal cord and occasionally the optic nerves that damages the brain’s myelin (the white coating of nerve fibers).Continue reading →